Woman charged with pretending to practice witchcraft after allegedly bilking man out of $600K

A Toronto woman has been charged with fraud and pretending to practice witchcraft after she allegedly convinced a man that he needed to sell his house and transfer the money to her account in order to get rid of evil spirits.

York region police say the 67-year-old victim met with a psychic who used the name Evanna approximately five years ago. “Evanna” allegedly convinced the man that in order to get rid of evil spirits in his home, he had to sell the house and transfer the money to her account, where it would remain until the spirits were gone.

Police said the money was never returned and the victim was asked for another $6,000, which the psychic said she would burn in order to ward off the evil spirits.

The man sold his car and used his credit cards in order to meet her demands. He lost more than $600,000 in the alleged scheme, police said.

Following a nearly year-long investigation, police have charged 27-year-old Samantha Stevenson with pretending to practice witchcraft, fraud over $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime.

Police say Stevenson used the alias Evanna Lopez.

Witchcraft is among the antiquated offences that the federal government plans to remove from the Criminal Code. That legislation is currently before a House of Commons committee.